Mohnish Pabrai provides some great insights on investing in an interview with Steve Forbes this week. Mr. Pabrai comments on a number of topics including the influence Warren Buffett has had on his investment style and the fee structure of his hedge fund.  One quote has particular resonance for someone who has been involved in technology but has chosen to generally avoid tech investments:

I spent a lot of time in the tech industry. And I like to say that I don’t invest in tech because I spent time in it. And I saw firsthand that the durability of technology moats is many times an oxymoron.

Mr. Pabrai also comments on index funds, the benefits of viewing investing as a “gentleman of leisure activity”, the virtues of an afternoon nap, and the main source of misery for investment managers:

Forbes: So what’s that saying of Pascal that you like about just sitting in a room?

Pabrai: Yeah. “All man’s miseries stem from his inability to sit in a room alone and do nothing.” And all I’d like to do to adapt Pascal is, “All investment managers’ miseries stem from the inability to sit alone in a room and do nothing.”

One suspects that “doing nothing” actually refers to moving funds around by frequent trading.  A prepared mind is required to take action quickly and in size when opportunities arise.  For most investors this requires a tremendous amount of reading and hard work.  To view the entire interview, please click on the image below:

For RSS Feed Subscribers, please click on this link for the interview.

For a list of Mr. Pabrai’s investment holdings as reported in his latest 13-F filing showing positions on December 31, 2009, please click on this link.

Disclosures:  None